{"id":593,"date":"2012-08-15T17:37:28","date_gmt":"2012-08-15T23:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/?p=593"},"modified":"2013-08-26T21:16:06","modified_gmt":"2013-08-27T03:16:06","slug":"how-to-write-a-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/how-to-write-a-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Identify yourself: <\/strong>\u201cI am a user of Chatfield State Park\u201d or \u201cI am a potential beneficiary of the water supply system and I have a direct stake in this decision\u201d, or \u201cI am a concerned citizen of ________ and do not agree with plans to increase the water level at Chatfield\u201d, etc. Then state &#8220;I would like to submit the following comments on the Chatfield Reallocation EIS.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>List how you use the park: <\/strong>(if applicable): for example, &#8220;I walk, hike, bike, bird watch, stream fish, water-ski, canoe, camp,&#8221; etc. Use personal descriptors like \u201cI enjoy the solitude under the large trees\u201d or \u201cI feel so at peace when I walk through the cottonwood forest\u201d or \u201cI have such fun with my grandson as we search for frogs along the river\u2019s edge\u201d.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Describe the Resources you especially value:<\/span><\/strong><b> <\/b>For example, \u201clarge mature trees with shade, cottonwood forests with rich diversity of plants\/animals, shaded stream-side paths, natural waters edge with frogs and crayfish, wetlands habitat with unusual plants, the abundance of birds,\u201d etc. Be as specific as you can.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style>\n<p><strong>Describe the NEGATIVE impact to you if the above resources go away:<\/strong><b> <\/b>For example, \u201cI will no longer visit the park\u201d or, \u201cthe trees will be destroyed in my favorite section of the South Platte\u201d, or \u201cI will no longer be able to ride my bike along the shady forested stream side\u201d, or \u201cresidents have a right to enjoy and protect natural areas that cannot be replaced\u201d, etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take a position<\/strong>:\u00a0 For example, &#8220;I recommend that you NOT approve this project because the impacts to Chatfield State Park are so substantial.\u00a0 Less damaging alternatives to water supply exist.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Give your reasons:<\/strong>\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Massive impacts: deforested and barren stream and lake\u2019s edge with mud flats and \u201cbathtub ring\u201d effect, loss of valuable riparian forest habitat and the recreation that depends on it. Destroyed habitat like century-old cottonwoods and free-flowing stream segments\u00a0on the South Platte River, Plum Creek and Deer Creek cannot be replaced.<\/li>\n<li>Alternatives are weak. It doesn\u2019t appear that other alternatives for water supply received serious consideration.\u00a0\u00a0 Examples:\u00a0 aquifer storage and recharge, increased water conservation, gravel pit storage and\/or expansion and use of existing water storage facilities in the vicinity of Chatfield such as Reuter-Hess reservoir or some combination of these.<\/li>\n<li>The selected plan (Alternative 3) is the MOST environmentally damaging alternative, whereas federal law \u2013 the Clean Water Act &#8211; specifies that only the LEAST damaging alternative is permissible.<\/li>\n<li>The selected plan will not provide a dependable source of water. In Appendix BB, the EIS lists five common measures of dependable yield for reservoirs and then states: &#8220;At Chatfield, all of these measures of dependable yield are 0.&#8221; The sacrifice of this rich bio-diverse habitat is NOT worth the benefit of an unreliable water supply.<\/li>\n<li>On May 15, 2013, Governor Hickenlooper issued an executive order directing the Colorado Water Conservation Board to create a Colorado Water Plan. No decision should be made about Chatfield until that plan is complete.<\/li>\n<li>Value of Chatfield for recreation and wildlife.\u00a0 Example:\u00a0 it has been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society.\u00a0 The EIS however leaves out a number of bird species that occur there and contains several misstatements about bird species that breed there.\u00a0 A survey of breeding birds was done at inappropriate times of year and day.<\/li>\n<li>Tell what kinds of recreation you enjoy there and its value to you.<\/li>\n<li>The document is huge; we need more time to review it \u2013 at least 60 days more.<strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Summarize:<\/strong>\u00a0 Example:\u00a0\u00a0 Chatfield State Park is a unique recreational and biological resource.\u00a0 We must find an alternative that meets water supply needs but preserves the Park\u2019s integrity.\u00a0 Alternative 3 is too damaging and I recommend you reject it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thanks:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank them for the opportunity to comment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Identify yourself: \u201cI am a user of Chatfield State Park\u201d or \u201cI am a potential beneficiary of the water supply system and I have a direct stake in this decision\u201d, or \u201cI am a concerned citizen of ________ and do not agree with plans to increase the water level at Chatfield\u201d, etc. Then state &#8220;I &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/how-to-write-a-letter\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to Write a Letter&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":808,"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions\/808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savechatfield.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}